“Rowdy” Roddy Piper – You Will Be Missed

Today we received the sad news that wrestling legend “Rowdy” Roddy Piper has died at the age of 61. Piper was one of the first big stars of wrestling and served as a villain for much of his wrestling career. It’s funny that back then Piper was the bad guy who antagonized the good guy, Hulk Hogan. Now we all know that Hogan was the real bad guy.

“Rowdy” Roddy Piper also acted in numerous movies and TV shows. Most famously, he starred in the 1988 John Carpenter film, They Live. The whole movie is great but it features one of the greatest fight scenes ever when Piper fights Keith David, an actor you might recognize from a million things.

More recently, Piper played the character Da’ Maniac on the TV comedy, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Da’ Maniac, a former wrestler who may be insane, appeared in a couple of episodes, the most recent one being in 2013.

It’s sad that he had to die so early and it’s even sadder he’s not the only former wrestler to die before his time. It’s another reminder that while wrestling may be fake, the wrestlers are real. The guys who do it take real risks to entertain us.